Udinese vs Fiorentina: Preview – Viola Nation

This, right here, is it. The culmination of a season that has only been typical in that the wheels have come off in the least-expected ways possible; did you even know there was a wheel there? I sure didn’t. In short, one last game stands separates Fiorentina and Europe. One final game separates us from another summer of fruitless revision and helpless projection.

So on we go as the Viola travel north and east to take on Udinese. All they can do is win here and hope that Lecce beats Lazio; that combination of results, and only that combination of results, catapults Fiorentina into the Conference League. The irony of relying on a Panataleo Corvino-assembled team shouldn’t be lost on anyone, but there are so many story lines to pick out of this one. The match will be played on Sunday, 25 May 2025, at 6:45 PM GMT/2:45 PM EST, at the Stadio Friuli in Udine. It’s Udine, so it’s chillier than anywhere else in Italy, but at least the thunderstorms should be finished by kickoff.

Three things to watch for

1. And now his watch is ended. As we approach the summer transfer window, we’re going to learn the fate of about half of this loan-centric Fiorentina roster. We can argue the pros and cons of keeping all these guys, but let’s also remember that this is real life and not a Football Manager save. We’re talking about people having to relocate themselves and their families while dealing with career uncertainty. That’s stressful.

At least some of Yacine Adli, Edoardo Bove, Danilo Cataldi, Andrea Colpani, Nicolò Fagioli, Michael Folorunsho, Albert Guðmundsson, and Nicolò Zaniolo are making their final Viola appearances as their loan moves expire this summer. Guys linked to transfers away—Lucas Beltrán, Pietro Comuzzo, David de Gea, Dodô, Moise Kean—are in the same boat. For maybe the last time, let’s just enjoy watching them, and their quirks, and their weaknesses, and all the things that make them interesting individual players rather than vectors of team wins or losses. It might be the last time.

2. What’s inside the mystery box. The mystery box, in this case, is Raffaele Palladino’s noggin. Specifically, what’s he going to do with his lineup? After he trotted out a 4-5-1 with 6 defenders against Bologna last week that was specifically designed to neutralize the Oscar Mayers, is he going to revert to the usual 3-5-2 in the finale? Or has he spent all week in training cooking up something wacky to combat Udinese, a team that’s very stylistically different from the Rossoblu?

Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images

Assuming the likeliest outcome (Fiorentina misses out on Europe), this will be a glimpse into next season, when the mister will usually have a full week between games to prepare a scheme unique to each opponent instead of a single day. Those extended rehearsals completely alter a team’s performance and Palladino hasn’t had recourse to them for most of the year. If his approach differs radically from last week’s and the previous couple months, it could mean that he’s going full tactical chameleon for 2025-2026, which will make every soccer hipster you know sit up and watch what exactly is cooking in Florence.

3. Fuck it, just enjoy the game, man. The outcome here is out of our hands. It’s always out of our hands because we’re losers on the internet, not players or coaches or scouts or staff. We bludgeon people with our opinions not because they’re objectively right but because doing so gives us a sense of control over something we definitionally have no control over. It’s a pretty basic coping mechanism that we all engage in. It’s fine and normal human behavior that makes for interesting sports discourse, which is why we all hang out here.

For this final game of the season, though, it’s even more out of our hands than usual. Even if we had the ability to manifest positive Fiorentina results—this season and every season before it demonstrates that no, we do not have that ability—it’s as much up to Lazio and Lecce as it is to the Viola. So, when the inevitable stupidest possible outcome occurs, let’s all be mad or disappointed or whatever but also remember that we have no say in how this goes down. We’re not subjects or even objects in this scenario. We’re observers, each of us as helpless and clueless as the others, and no amount of shrieking will change that.

Possible lineups

Made using Share My Tactics

Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department

The bookies lean Fiorentina but aren’t too happy about it. On the one hand, Fiorentina’s the better team with more to play for. On the other hand, Udinese’s at home and has troubled the Viola in Friuli of late, splitting the last 4 meetings and beating the Viola 1-2 in Florence back in December. The trip to Udine always fills me with dread so it’s hard to be too confident going into this one.

Making a prediction is even harder. What’s more psychically damaging for Fiorentina fans? A flat performance combined with a surprising Lecce win? Or a hardfought win here combined with Lazio scoring late to level against the Salentini? My money’s on the latter, so I’m calling for a tough 1-2 win to avenge the defeat earlier this year. Moose and Goose feels like the right combination to close the season, so Moise Kean and Robin Gosens to score for the good guys, with Lorenzo Lucca striking for the hosts.

Forza Viola!